Chapter 110
Chapter 110: Make me Water (4)
District 5, Earthtown. Erik and Ruelle took their places in the vacant lot created in the center of the district.
"So this whole place is becoming a concert hall? And... it's supposed to hold 200,000 people!"
Ruelle recalled the prayer gathering. The thrill from that time sent shivers through her entire body once more. She wrapped her arms around herself.
"Aah! That ecstasy."
"It will become even more magnificent in the future."
Erik smiled leisurely as he said this. At that moment, Ruelle called out to Kang Ji-na and stopped her.
"Ji-na! Wait a moment!"
"Yes?"
"Let's put that over there."
The two had arrived early and were in the midst of preparing the Believer Appointment Ceremony. In other words, they were setting up the stage. Ruelle's instructions continued for quite some time in this manner.
"The stage is almost done, so... hmm. When will Du-sik come back?"
Erik had instructed Jang Du-sik to bring the Possessors from the detention camp.
"Indeed. The Imperial Family isn't lenient with Possessor management laws. The procedures seem to be taking some time."
Thanks to a moment of leisure, a time for casual conversation arose.
"But what changes when Possessors become Believers?" "Master can educate the Possessors."
"Ri, Riferoze's education?"
Ruelle's body trembled slightly. Then she looked at Kang Ji-na beside her. Her eyes held a hint of sympathy. However, she didn't think of stopping it.
'It's aggressive, but... it's the right thing to do.'
The results of that education were always successful. The gigantic Paladin right before her eyes. Wasn't Erik proof of that? Moreover, there were also Janson and Du-sik.
"Um, sister Ruelle? Is something wrong? Is this flower bed a bit crooked?"
Kang Ji-na asked as if confused, and Ruelle brushed it off saying 'Oh, it's nothing.'
Then, looking at Erik, she changed the subject.
"Erik, is it really right to immediately do something else if one thing doesn't work out?"
She was asking whether it would be fine to hold the Believer Appointment Ceremony before finishing planting the flowers.
"Isn't that more efficient? Multi-tasking, as they say—"
"I'm not very good at that."
As they continued their casual conversation, the time for the Believer Appointment Ceremony soon approached.
"Brother! I brought them all!"
Jang Du-sik and the Royal Guard arrived at District 5 leading a procession of Possessors. Passing by Du-sik who stood at the front, the Royal Guard approached Erik.
"Sir! We've completed the selection. Total Possessors: 276."
"Is 300 the final total?"
"That's all the authorized personnel!"
Erik fell into thought for a moment. 21 Possessors set aside for construction and three wandering the Labyrinth, totaling 300 Possessors. This was the number the Imperial Family had approved.
'I still need to do something about the detention camp issue, though...'
The Empire's Possessor Detention Camp. After Erik became Director, a systematic system was introduced to the Empire's Possessor Detention Camp.
'This is also quite tedious work.'
Erik personally checked the [Status Window], thoroughly verifying levels and classes, and even completed investigations of the [Achievement] section. Then the Information Bureau would track the relevant Possessor's history and determine whether they were criminals. Thus, Possessors were divided into three levels and confined.
'Level 1 kids are actually pitiful ones with no reason to be locked up.'
[Level 1] housed Possessors like Kang Ji-na who were capable of socialization. Ordinary people with no particular criminal history.
'Though some did engage in strange businesses occasionally...'
At best, they were caught after their ventures failed. Anyway, such harmless Possessors had to live locked in cages of barely two square meters. Still, they could at least talk to each other, so their treatment was much better compared to those of other levels.
'The guys in other tiers... really shouldn't be let loose into the world.'
[Level 2] housed Possessors who had committed serious crimes. Those who incited impoverished farming villages to attempt rebellion, or conducted large-scale fraud schemes. They lived in solitary confinement, unable to perceive the passage of time in perpetual darkness.
'Level 3 is... deserving of death.'
[Level 3] housed Possessors who had committed unforgivable sins beyond murder. Existences that had harmed countless lives, surrendering themselves to the Achievement System such as [Pleasure of Murder]. Even if not murders specifically, the prisoners here had extremely vile crime records.
'I need to do something about Level 1...'
Erik wanted to improve the treatment of Possessors confined to Level 1. They were perfectly harmless.
'Park Chang-ho, Kang Pung-ho, Nishida Ryo.'
These three were the proof. Erik was convinced.
'No matter where I release these guys, they won't cause major problems.'
Erik finished his thoughts. Immediately, he approached the Royal Guard.
"How many Level 1 Possessors remain?"
"Approximately 1,000 remain."
"Authorization?"
"They haven't yet completed processing by the Information Bureau, so they've been placed on hold."
The Imperial Family had shown Erik tremendous mercy. They had often overlooked his overstepping his authority, and the discretion given to Erik was incredibly broad to begin with.
'The Imperial Family's will.'
In other words. There were aspects that Erik also had to respect.
"I see."
Erik nodded calmly and called the Possessors forward. Now all that remained was the Believer Appointment Ceremony using GP and Gold.
Kwaaah!
[Unnamed God's Divine Temple - Lv.1]
[Appointable Believers - 4/300]
"You will come to accept the power of sanctity through the blessing of Priestess Ruelle."
A heavy, deep voice descended upon the lined-up Possessors. Anticipation filled everyone's eyes. Because the power that had confined them and made them criminals would no longer harm them.
"Really... truly...?"
"We're being born anew-."
In the midst of such anticipation,
Kuung!
Erik raised his momentum. A heavy Divine Power descended, and the Possessors let out screams of pain.
"Kyaaaaaah!!!"
Screams scattered in all directions. Yet Erik remained calm. In fact, he felt bewildered. The truth was, he hadn't really used much force at all...
'Their sense of drama is an art form.'
It was unnecessary pain, but considering the Believer Appointment Ceremony to follow, it was clearly a necessary procedure.
Swish!
Erik drew his sword and pointed it at the Possessors. And before they could say anything, he brought it down.
Zzzzeeeng!
With a tremendous sound, the Possessors' consciousness vanished into the world of the Divine Temple.
Thud, thud-thud-thud!
As Erik caught the collapsing bodies, he smiled ruefully.
***
A vacant lot the size of a decent stadium had been placed in the heart of Earthtown. Moreover, the vacant lot had been beautifully decorated with flowers. Since there was no concert hall yet, a similar environment had been created.
"Wow, beautiful..."
"Really, we're going to live here?"
A flower garden adorned with countless flowers. Flowers bloomed in full on columns arranged in arch forms, and the Possessors passed through them and approached Ruelle.
"In that Divine Temple..."
The expressions of the Possessors varied. Hope that their treatment would improve. Anxiety from the fact that their original selves had died.
"Sister Ji-na said it, right? We died, and we've been given a new chance here."
"Sister? But originally she was middle-aged"
"Hey!!! We should judge by our current bodies now!"
In the Divine Temple, they had heard Kang Ji-na's explanation. The short-haired beauty's round eyes naturally inspired trust. And the time distortion within the Divine Temple had given them time to accept it. Rather than that.
"So we really get recognized by Divine Power?"
"According to sister Ji-na, yes..."
The power that had made them criminals. Divine Power. The fact that they would be recognized by it stirred the hearts of the Possessors. With trembling hearts, they passed through the path of flowers toward its end.
"Wow..."
The chatter that had been noisy before fell silent. The 300 female Possessors stared in rapture at the woman before their eyes. At the end of the brilliant flower garden. There, a woman of supreme beauty was radiating light using holy Divine Power as illumination. It was Ruelle.
"In the name of God, the time has come to be forgiven for your sins."
At that clear and beautiful voice, the Possessors naturally closed their eyes. On the dais placed in the center of the flower garden, Ruelle looked down. Her lips trembled. It was difficult to express this complex state of mind.
'Tithes and prayer gatherings...'
Before becoming Erik's Believer, she had honestly been reluctant about offering prayers. She had even felt a slight guilt about fraud. In fact, during the Astia Religious Order, the subject of faith was different, so it was similar to a kind of fraud.
However, now it was different.
'The Gold truly goes to God, and the Believers' faith converts to GP, nurturing new Believers...'
As she thought about it, Erik really felt like a true God. The Gold received through tithes was all spent by Erik anyway, so it was merely a formality, and GP returned to the number of Believers, so it was truly a miracle of God.
"Mmm."
A humming sound came out naturally. In response to that pleasant emotion, Divine Power around her sparkled like starlight. Now Ruelle had one task left.
"Come forward one at a time."
To make the Possessors into Believers. And so, when the concert hall was completed.
'The whole world will.'
A grand prayer gathering would be held before 200,000 spectators.
"Mmm-mmm."
Ruelle calmed her excitement. Only then did she look at the Possessor who had stepped forward.
"Possessor Kim Yun-ah, you are hereby forgiven for your sins under the protection of the Lord and shall receive recognition from Divine Power."
With a refined voice, a hand was placed on the Possessor's head. The first Possessor knelt before Ruelle and lowered her head. Then,
Saaaaaaa! Brilliant Divine Light wrapped around the Possessor's entire body. In the eyes of Possessor Kim Yun-ah, a clear screen appeared.
[You have become the Boss's Believer.]
Kim Yun-ah felt slight doubt about the name of God. However, faced with the holy Divine Power wrapping around her entire body, she felt that a name was irrelevant. Having directly experienced Divine Power.
'True blessing without pain!'
Divine Power was, after all, the only drug permitted by the world.
"Aaaaa!!!"
Kim Yun-ah, who had possessed the body of a Half-Barbarian, let out an exclamation. And a man watching this also let out a sigh.
"Huh."
It was Erik, watching the Believer Appointment Ceremony.
'I didn't think about this.'
A Possessor who had seen death in the Divine Temple could still be appointed as a Believer outside the temple. It was something he had realized when appointing Janson. Or rather, didn't the [Amount] appear?
"Hey, brother. Why do you look so gloomy about a good deed? Was that woman super expensive?"
"No, just 2,000 Gold."
The price of a Believer was very cheap. From a quick glance, at most it was 10 million Gold, and most hovered around 1,000 Gold.
"But why are you frowning like that?"
Jang Du-sik beside him scratched his head and asked.
[A Believer has been appointed.]
[As proof of faith, the 'Constraint - Soul Rejecting Sanctity' becomes void.]
The Believer Appointment was proceeding smoothly. However, the problem was,.
[Boss - Lv.1]
[Appointable Believers - 5/300]
The issue of the [Divine Name] that the Possessors saw.
'...Just how deep was Janson's faith in me?'
Was it because of Janson's sublime faith? An ominous premonition came that this God's name might become fixed as "Boss." Moreover—.
"Hey, brother. Are you really feeling unwell somewhere?"
Hearing Jang Du-sik sing "brother, brother," when locals were later integrated as well—. A Status Window like [Brother] might even be created. But.
[A Believer has been appointed.]
[As proof of faith, the 'Constraint - Soul Rejecting Sanctity' becomes void.] . . .
Watching the continuously increasing number of Believers, Erik pushed away the ominous thoughts.
"Du-sik, after you marry the princess, you must always make your wife your first priority."
Still, he put in a bit of insurance.
'He's a bit greedy, but the princess is decent enough as a person.'
Then Jang Du-sik blinked his eyes wide open.
"Understood. So if brother and my wife get kidnapped, who should I save?"
[Boss - Lv.1]
[Appointable Believers - 77/300]
"Obviously, me."
"Didn't you just say to take care of your wife first?"
"Kidnapping is different, you fool. Would the Emperor just sit idle?"
"Oh, that's true."
Watching the increasing number of Believers, Erik listened to Jang Du-sik's nonsense. Before long, all the Possessors were appointed as [Believers].
"Du-sik, it's done."
"...Poor things."
While the benefits of being a Believer were tremendous, Jang Du-sik looked at them with a pitying expression.
"Indeed."
Erik felt the same way.
"Sister Riferoze’s teachings, no less—."
Jang Du-sik's hair stood on end.
***
"Ruelle, your scamming skills are quite impressive."
Riferoze, who had been watching the Possessors from a distance, returned dragging Janson with her. She looked at Ruelle and clenched her fist with regret.
"This, this is not scamming!"
Ruelle protested, but—.
"Whether it's Believer Appointments or whatever, wasn't it Erik who used his power for all of it?"
Riferoze's words brought silence. It was a kind of fact-checking violence.
"Master, my power is Ruelle's power, is it not?"
Erik smoothly separated the two women and resolved the situation.
'Ruelle handled the production.'
In reality, Erik had conducted all the Believer Appointments himself. It wasn't particularly difficult. Just spend some money and move your fingers a bit—that's all it took.
"Why would my power become Ruelle's power?"
"Then is it my power while also being Master's power?"
The two women looked at him.
"So my power is Ruelle's power?"
"Or is my power Erik's power?"
Listening from the side, Jang Du-sik blinked.
'Isn't that the same thing?'
Unlike the simple-minded Du-sik, Erik clearly understood the meaning of this question.
'There's a matter of word priority.'
In other words, it was a question of who came first. It was also a very difficult question to answer. So—.
"Look over there."
Erik pointed to the end of the outer wall of District 5. A long, thick branch was visible, and at its end were countless yellowed, withered leaves. How many trees in the world were large enough to be seen beyond a giant defensive wall?
[World Tree]
The name tag appeared clearly in Erik's eyes.
"The, World Tree......"
Ruelle swallowed her saliva.
"That wretched thing."
Riferoze's anger flared.
'Good grief.'
Saaaaaaa!
And the gigantic [World Tree] shot a gentle breeze toward Erik. It didn't end there. The yellowed, withering leaves turned a vibrant green, and the drooping branches straightened up, raising their heads high toward the sky.
Kwaaah!
[The Divine Temple and the World Tree have been connected.]